Funeral
by LadyShinigami12
Summary: The Shinigami Dispatch mourns for the loss of Eric Slingby and Alan Humphries. Takes place right after the Musical.


**Oh, gosh, I promised myself I wouldn't write a sad fic. But I had this idea and I couldn't go to sleep before I wrote it, but afterwards I cried into my pillow, and I cannot believe I just published that.**

**I do not own Kuroshitsuji, nor the musical, although it makes me cry every time.**

The Shinigami Dispatch was very quiet that day. No, that wasn't the right word. It was silent. If you stretched your ears, you could just hear the sounds of pen on parchment. No one spoke. No one made any noises of any kind. They couldn't. They were all in shock.

They should be shocked. It was rare that one Shinigami died, let alone two in one day.

"Ronald," Grell knocked lightly on Ronald's door. Ronald looked up. Grell was oddly somber. He wasn't even wearing red. For the first time since Ronald had known him, he was wearing proper black Shinigami attire. He had even tied his long hair back. "It's time."

Ronald put down his pen and followed his Senpai out the door. The two walked silently down the halls of the dispatch, gaining sympathetic looks from those in the offices they passed.

They had had a great deal of trouble deciding where the funeral should be held at all. Shinigami's didn't exactly have a graveyard for themselves. If it ever happened that a Shinigami did die, they were usually buried where they had lived before they became a Shinigami. Eric had once lived down in Bristol, while Alan used to live in York, but it was generally agreed, although no one was sure who had first suggested it, that the two of them should be buried together. Eventually, Undertaker had found a nice small plot on the outskirts of London.

Two coffins had been set in front of two gravestones, set and ready for burial. There were a few chairs set out in front of the coffins, and Ronald and Grell took two that had been reserved for them in the front.

Most of the people came were people who had offices near Eric and Alan's, although there were a few of their academy friends and people from assorted places in the dispatch. The girls from General affairs flocked Ronald, covered in running mascara, and telling him how sorry they were for his loss. For the first time in his life, he found their attention extremely—annoying.

Will was the last to arrive, but instead of taking a seat, he stood between the two coffins, facing the seated audience.

"We are here today to mourn the loss of two of the finest Shinigamis I have ever known. Alan Humphries and Eric Slingby were hardworking, dedicated, and diligent in their duties. If there is one thing I can say about them, they always got their paperwork in on time." Will glanced at the coffin containing Eric. "Usually."

Ronald frowned slightly at Will. That was it? That was the ceremony? But just as he went to sit down, Grell stood up and took his place.

"I just wanted to add a little to dear Will's excellent eulogy. Of course, he does everything excellent." Grell gave a weak smile, but it quickly faded as he continued. "Alan and Eric were people I think I could really call friends. I remember, the first few months when Alan joined the dispatch, I actually managed to convince him I really was a woman." He smiled in genuine at the memory. "And even after he found out, he still called me Ms. Sutcliffe, at least to my face.

"Eric, I didn't really know as well until he started going out with Alan. I think, once he realized he was gay too, he was able to see past my eccentricities a little, which is something few people have done. He actually defended me on a few occasions when people were pulling my hair and calling me some very foul and discriminating names. I—I just hope that in death the both of them can find the peace and rest they never really had in life. Or the afterlife." Grell nodded at the crowd and then took his seat again.

They waited a moment to see if anyone else stood to speak. Grell kept looking sideways at Ronald, but Ronald couldn't move. He just kept shifting his glance between the two coffins.

Finally, Undertaker came to the front and slowly lowered Alan's coffin into the grave. Once it hit the bottom, he did the same to Eric's. Quicker than any normal undertaker could have done, he covered both graves with dirt again. He then scattered a group of seeds on top. Ronald squinted to see what kind of seeds they were. Undertaker saw his glance, smiled and explained, "Ericas."

Less than an hour later Ronald found himself in Will's office with Will and Grell, the few remnants of their 'team.' Will gave them all some beer he said he had been saving for a 'special occasion.'

Ronald downed half the bottle without even taking a breath. "They shouldn't have died." He muttered. "We were just trying to arrest them."

"They did break the rules." Will reminded him. "Eric betrayed everything it meant to be a Shinigami by collecting those 999 souls. And Alan turned his back on the dispatch."

Ronald wasn't sure why he did it. He had just been so angry ever since they had found Alan and Eric's bodies, and he hadn't been able to lash out once. He would suppose later that his emotions had simply been boiling inside him until he finally burst. However, at the present, he stood up suddenly, slamming his beer on the desk and pointing at Grell. "HE KILLED PROSTITUTES THAT WEREN'T ON THE DEATH LIST AND ALL HE GOT WAS HIS SCYTHE TAKEN AWAY FOR A FEW MONTHS!" In his anger he turned on Grell, who stared right back at him. "HE EVEN HELPED THAT DAMN DEMON! That demon, that thing that KILLED ERIC! He worked WITH the demon to HUNT ERIC DOWN! He LOVES that demon!"

He stepped closer to Grell and grabbed his suit jacket. "At least Eric killed to save someone he LOVED! What about you, Grell? What did you break the rules for, huh? Jealousy? BLOODLUST?"

Will stood up. "Knox, that is ENOUGH!"

"I DID IT OUT OF LOVE, TOO!" Grell shouted back at Ronald. The room paused for a moment. Ronald slowly let go of Grell and backed off a step. "That's right, LOVE! Just like Eric." Grell turned and smiled softly at Will. "William you know you'll always be my true love, but," He turned his eyes back to Ronald. "There was one, once In my extremely long life where I loved a _woman_ as a _man_. She shared my values, she shared my pain, she even shared my color. I killed for her. When she refused, to kill that boy, she betrayed me, and broke my heart, so I killed _her_ for it. It doesn't really make sense, but it's the truth."

Grell swallowed and then continued. "So you see, I understand why Eric did what he did. And I understand why Alan did what he did. It really doesn't make sense when you think about it. Their deaths were so pointless, it's really unfair, but the both of them were wrong, and they died for it. It's the truth. So, the only thing we can do is remember them fondly. Sit down, Ronald. Remember your friends."

Ronald backed up a step. And then another. Finally, he slumped back down in his chair.

There was another pause and then Will spoke. "For once, Ronald, Grell was right in what he did. Tracking down Eric was his job, even if it meant coordinating with that demon. So," He raised his glass, "I really meant what I said in the eulogy. To two of the finest Shinigami I have ever known."

"To Alan and Eric." Grell added. The three of them drank their beer.

Ronald sat staring at the floor, no more than a sip left in his bottle. However, as Will and Grell were halfway through their sips, he raised his again. They didn't even notice.

"To the Most Beautiful Deaths in the World."


End file.
